EU Trade Commissioner Hogan and MEPs warn USA not to overreact to Digital Tax, but pursue Dialogue
*Strasbourg/EU Parliament/Angelo Marcopolo/- In the 1st ever Debate in EU Parliament on US possible reactions to Digital Tax, New EU Commissioner for Trade, Phil Hogan from Ireland, warned USA not to overreact, but Better pursue Dialogue through OECD and/or other ways.
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- "it would be a matter of significant concern to the (EU) Commission if the US should decide to introduce tariffs against the EU", in an "Unilateral" move, "for the 1st Time" in History,
- Similar methods "have previously been used only in response to unfair trading practices in China’s non-market economy in order to justify US tariffs against China", Hogan pointed out.
- But, here, on the Contrary, it's about "ensuring that Digital Companies pay their Fair Share of Taxes", he stressed. Already since 2018, EU Commission had "made 2 Proposals" : (A) "a Short-term Target", with "Digital Services Taxation", and (B) "a Long-term Comprehensive Solution", by "adjusting the Definition of a Permanent Establishment... to include Digital ...for Corporation tax", he Reminded. EU Parliament "supported the Digital ServicesTax", "Pending a Comprehensive Solution", he added. Because there are "increasing pressures ... faced by Member States to act, given the risk that their Corporate tax base is being Eroded significantly over Time and the perceived Unfairness of the situation", he explained.
AnOther Possibilty is to "accelerate Discussions at the OECD level to find a Global Solution on taxation issues, including a global Digital service taxation"
- But, Meanwhile, "unfortunately", the EU "Council did Not Find Agreement....on the Beginning of 2019", so that " "France and some other Member States then, proceeded to adopt or prepare National Digital service Taxes".
=> Then, "the USA started an ... Investigation on July 2019", which "is the 1st US investigation into a digital service tax, despite France being Neither the 1st, Nor the Only country that has adopted it".
- However, on August 2019, "on the margins of a G7 meeting in Biarritz", Presidents Trump and Macron Agreed "that France would continue levying the tax and would Reimburse companies if subsequently there was a difference between the French tax and the OECD Global solution'.
- But, "Despite that", "the US continued with its investigation with a negative determination on 2 December 2019, claiming that France’s digital service tax is unreasonable, discriminatory and burdens or restricts US commerce" : "This ...opens the route for Unilateral Measures, under US Law".
>>> But, the EU "Commission calls upon the US Not to break its obligations under international Law.... President von der Leyen made clear that the EU will Act and React as One, Against any Unilateral measures outside the multilateral trading system. The EU will collectively Defend a Member State, If a trading Partner takes Unilateral trade Measures Against it !", he Warned.
- "It would be the 1st time that the US has used this instrument Against the EU, since the WTO was founded in 1995" ,
while, on the Contrary, "the US Statute envisages further Discussions as an option"... "So, we in the (EU) Commission will Keep on Pushing for these Discussions", Hogan concluded Today.
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+ In the subsequent Debate, French MEP Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, Speaking on behalf of the Groupe "ReNew", Criticised a "World Trade in "Troubled Waters", and Pleaded for "any Balanced World Trade Based into Rules".
- But, in Fact, we (EU) Faced Taxes on Aluminium and Steel, our Agriculture producers are under Customs, on the occasion of the Affair "Airus/Boeing", and Nowadays, there is also a Threat for Various "Heavy" measures Against Trade, she Criticized.
- It's Not True that this Digital Tax would be "Discriminatory". It only represents a Juste Remuneration for Digital services, she found.
=> EU searches a Negociated Solution inside the OECD, and we Support that. We don't want any Trade War. More Tensions will only provoke more Losers. We want Better Dialogue !", she concluded.=
+ "And EU Solidarity !", added also Irish ChristianDemocrat MEP Maria Walsh.
(../..)
("Draft-News")
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Former "Green-Red" German government's Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer's job at the controversial Turkish pipeline "Nabucco" was denounced as "not proper", "very bad", and "incompatible with Democracy", by the new President of EU Parliament's EuroLeft Group, German Lothar Bisky, replying to an "EuroFora" question.
For once, criticism of Joschka Fischer's doings with Turkey affecting Europe, didn't come only from the Center-Right of the political spectrum, but even from his Left side : The experienced Bisky, who has been chairing all over 1993-2009 the PDS - Die Linke party :
- "Former Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer got involved in dealings with oil-gaz business in a foreign country, Turkey, and its controversial Nabucco pipeline. This raises questions about Democracy, also because of the well known problems of Human Rights violations in that country. Do you thing that this might be abused in order to cover up and close EU's eyes on Human Rights violations ?", "EuroFora" asked Bisky.
- "Nabucco pipeline is (only) at the planning stage". And "there are some difficulties", he observed from the start. But "'I don't want to get into the details of Nabucco pipeline, because I don't think that there is any point for it at the moment".
At any case, "we (EU Parliament's EuroLeft Group) strongly believe that Politicians should not get involved in the Energy Business, and all these commercial transactions", President Bisky declared on the Joschka Fiischer's affair.
- "We feel that it's something that shouldn't be done. It's not proper !"
- "We don't think that it's compatible with Democracy either, and it gets politics into a very Bad track", Bisky went on to denounce.
- "EuroLeft and "Die Linke" always spoke against that, saying that politicians should not get directly into the arms of private enterprises"
- "It is pretty bad if a former Minister takes a job f.ex. in a major Energy producer. So, it's an issue if a Minister who may have seen excellent opportunities, subsequently gets personally grasp of them, in very serious parts of the economy, once he has given up his (Government) job."
- "It doesn't really make politics in general look any better'", Bisky concluded.
Earlier, this week in Strasbourg, other Journalists had also raised critical questions on former Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer's involvement in the conroversial Turkish Nabucco pipeline to the President of his own EuroParty : Kohn-Bendit of the "Greens", who, contrary to Bisky, tried to find excuses for Fischer, while criticizing his long-time partner, Schroeder for having done a similar move :
- "Shroeder was chancellor", and he "negociated" with "Russians", who gave him a job only "3 Months" after he resigned from the Government. While "Joschka Fischer", on the contrary, got a job with the controversial Turkish Nabucco pipeline only "4 Years after" he left the Government. "He didn't negociate Nabucco", so I have "no objection", Kohn Bendit claimed.
But, many Facts indicate the contrary :
Joschka Fischer was Foreign Minister in Germany from 1999 up to 2005 : I.e. from the year that EU took the controversial decision to give Turkey a "Candidate" status, until he year it started controversial "accession negotiations, (later declared "open-ended" after Sarkozy-Merkel's arrival from 2005-2007).
During that period was prepared the controversial so-called "Annan" Plan (in fact, drafted by others and attributed afterwards to the former UN SG) on Cyprus, which failed after a Popular Referendum said "No" on 2004 with a large Majoriy of 3/4 : 75%. Mainly because it was criticized for making too much concessions to the Turkish side : Particularly by restricting Greek Cypriot Refugees' Human Right to return to their ancestral Land and/or get restitution of their Familiy Homes and private properties, usurpated by Ankara's Army since the 1974 militay invasion and continuing occupation of the northern part of Cyprus. And by weakening the Central Government, leaving to 2 "constituent States" so much powers and separate interests that more conflicts appeared inevitable, provoking the danger of a break-down in the foreseable future, with more crisis, troubles, perhaps bloodshed, etc., instead of creating an harmoniously integrated, really one federal State.
The controversial Plan was finalized on March-April 2004 at Burgenstock (Switzerland), curiously in the presence of an Envoy by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany, then governed by Joschka Fischer, but in the absence of a French and not even an European Union's Envoy, contrary to what was usually practiced on similar occasions in Switzerland (fex. in 1997 at Montreux, in 2000 at Geneva, etc).
Turkey notoriously exploited the failure of the "Annan" Plan in order to convince the EU to decide to start accession Negotiations on December 2004. This provoked an unprecedented series of Institutional Crisis inside the EU, shortly afterwards, when French and Dutch People rejected, 2 popular EuroReferenda by a majority "'No" vote to the EU Constitutional Treaty on 2005, aggraveted in 2004 a Majority Abstention to EU Elections, etc., followed by the recent Irish "No", etc.
"Nabucco" Gas pipeline was notoriously planned since ..2002. It follows an even earlier idea, for an Oil pipeline Baku-Ceyhun, which started to be prepared on 1999-2001 and was meanwhile recently completed.
So, facts indicate that what is now at stake is based on decisions made during Joschka Fischer's term as former Foreign Minister, closely interested in Turkey's controversial EU-bid.
To the point that he now practically ...switched jobs with a poliician from Turkey, (the State which pays today openly Joschka Fischer), Mr. Ozdemir, who came earlier in Germany, got fast the nationality, and became EiuroMP in a few years, continuing now as head of the "Greens" in Germany, i.e. in Joschka's former job !...
Such astonishing facts risk, unfotunately, to give to German politician Lothar Bisky's criticism of representative Democracy a topical meaning :
- "We (EuroLeft Group) think that what is really at stake is Democracy. It's not only about Gas Pipelines or Energy sources", President Lothar Bisky went on to add in his reply to "EuroFora"'s question on Joscka Fischer's personal interests in the controversial Turkish "Nabuco" pipeline.
Such facts, "make People get more distance from Politics. ...People had had enough, and they are fed up !".
- "That's why we (EuroParliament's "EuroLeft" Group) want to strengthen Direct Democracy in Europe. Citizens should be involved in the (EU) Decision-making. In the end of the day, it's not going to help anyone if Politicians are always taking decisions, without involving Citizens. We want to give a voice to the People of Europe. They've got to have their say in the decisions that are taken. That's one of our absolutely fixed and steadfast views. We want more Direct Democracy in Europe. That's how it can become more effective and stronger", he concluded.
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